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Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge
Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge (ドラゴンボールZ とびっきりの最強対最強, Doragon Bōru Zetto: Tobikkiri no Saikyō tai Saikyō; lit. "Dragon Ball Z: The Incredible Mightiest vs. Mightiest") is the fifth Dragon Ball Z movie, originally released in Japan on July 20, 1991, between episodes 99 and 100. It was translated in America by FUNimation Entertainment in 2002, and released on VHS and DVD on January 22. The movie was re-released with its sequel, Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler, in November 2008 alongside the remastered Season 7 of the anime series. Summary Backstory and Cooler's arrival In this movie, Frieza's older brother Cooler is introduced. The film begins with a flashback to when Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, and Cooler's ship picks up Goku's space pod escaping the system. Cooler calls off the order to have it destroyed and lets it go, believing it to be no threat to him. More than twenty-five years later, Cooler unexpectedly discovers that his brother was killed by a Saiyan, something he disregards at first, believing that no Saiyan could generate enough power to kill Frieza. Cooler shows no compassion for his fallen brother, but is angered that someone in his family was slain by a Saiyan, and thinks that Frieza has dishonored his family by doing so. Soon after, Cooler and his "Armored Squadron" travel to Earth with the plan to kill the Saiyan who damaged his family's honor. Upon arrival, his forces ambush Goku and his friends on a camping trip, and after battling Salza, Neiz, and Dore, Goku is wounded by an energy blast launched by Cooler that was meant to kill Gohan, although he had enough strength left over to counter with an energy blast at Cooler, which he effortlessly parried, to which Cooler then realized that he was most likely going to survive and then tried to finish him off with a Death Flash, but he escaped underwater. This encounter leads him to speculate that Goku might be a Super Saiyan, and thus explains how Frieza could have been killed by Goku. Undaunted, he tells the Armored Squadron to find and destroy them. Icarus reawakens Krillin during the aftermath of assault by the Armored Squadron, and Krillin then ponders Goku's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Goku and Gohan emerge near a bank, and Goku loses consciousness due to his injury sustained from Cooler's blast. Gohan takes his father to shelter within a cave, but they are sealed away within a cavern due to Dore, Neiz and Salza blasting the landscape in an attempt to kill the wounded Goku. They assume their efforts are enough to have killed Goku, to which Cooler disagrees, stating that while he could just destroy the Earth, he would personally prefer ensuring Goku was dead seeing his corpse with his own eyes. Meanwhile, Krillin, Oolong and Icarus, while hiding from the Armored Squadron, search for Goku until Icarus, picking up Gohan's scent, discover the cave Goku and Gohan are trapped within. When Krillin uses a Ki Blast to bring down the rock pile blocking the entrance, they narrowly manage to avoid drawing Neiz's attention thanks to a Pterodactyl going by Neiz while the latter was trying to find where the energy his scouter detected came from. After Krillin sets up shelter in a small cave with Goku, Gohan flies off to obtain Senzu Beans from Korin on his tower. After obtaining the beans, he is ambushed by the squadron, but just as he is about to be mercilessly beaten, Piccolo arrives on the scene and saves him from the attack. Piccolo proceeds to battle the warriors, and effortlessly kills Dore with a homing energy blast. He continues to fight Salza and Neiz, but is trapped for a moment in Neiz Bind Wave allowing Salza to chase down the fleeing Gohan. However, Piccolo proves far to powerful for the attack to work on him, and he backfires it on Neiz, which kills the soldier outright. Piccolo then ambushes Salza in a forest, but Cooler arrives and blasts Piccolo through the chest. Cooler then orders Salza to track down Gohan as a near-dead Piccolo falls to the ground below, with Piccolo, thinking that Cooler was Frieza, claiming out of shock that Frieza should have been dead before being blasted multiple times. Gohan arrives at the cave with the Senzu Beans a short time later, but Salza arrives and destroys the bag just as he is about to give them to Krillin. An outraged Krillin attacks Salza but proves no match for the elite warrior, and as Krillin is smashed down, Gohan comes to his aid, but not before giving Goku the extra bean Yajirobe had thrown to him. As Gohan charges at Salza and proceeds to be thrashed around, Goku is healed with the spare bean. Goku walks out of the cave much to the surprise of Salza, who was just heading over to finish the wounded fighter off. Cooler arrives moments later and during a conversation, Salza attacks Goku to absolutely no affect. Goku powers up and Salza is sent hurdling into a rock face. Goku then charges at Cooler, and the titanic battle begins. Goku vs. Cooler After several minutes of a somewhat even fight, Cooler tells of his history with his younger brother Frieza, and how he always hated his "spoiled brat" of a brother, and that he was actually planning on killing him himself one day. As the conversation continues, Cooler reveals that Frieza always had the edge in strength until Cooler found a transformation beyond his brother's. The tyrant then reveals his final transformation, and proceeds to pummel Goku easily. Even with uses of Kaio-ken and Kamehameha, Goku proves no match for the transformed power of Cooler and finds himself completely outclassed. However, as Cooler threatens to destroy the planet, Goku once again channels his fury to become a Super Saiyan. Cooler finds himself, like Frieza was, grossly outclassed, but summons a trump card in the form of a Supernova (the same attack Frieza used to blow up Planet Vegeta, and the one he used to attempt to kill Future Trunks) to destroy Goku and the Earth. However, after a stint of struggling, Goku eventually manages to send it back with a Super Kamehameha, sending Cooler hurdling into the sun. As Cooler curses Goku, he realizes that Goku is the Saiyan he let escape over two and a half decades ago, and that he could have prevented this fate by killing the Saiyan child when he had the opportunity. Cooler then disintegrates and seemingly dies in the Sun. Goku, drained after his battle, is found by Krillin and Gohan. They are searching for the injured Piccolo when Salza reappears, and attempts to attack them. However, before he can attack, he is run through and killed by a Special Beam Cannon from a distance. Gohan looks around for Piccolo to no avail, and the movie ends with Piccolo staring at the sun and drinking some water, his wounds fully healed due to his regeneration ability. Timeline placement This film takes place between episodes "Z Warriors Prepare" and "Goku's Ordeal" of the Trunks Saga, while the Z Fighters were training for the arrival of the androids. In the book Daizenshuu 7, the movie events are placed chronologically in this period, around years Age 764-767. In the video game Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen, Cooler and his henchmen also arrive on Earth during this period, and the debriefing prior to the "Strongest vs. Strongest" stage in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 asserts that Cooler's Revenge takes place following "return to Earth after crushing Frieza", somewhat confirming this. Also, Goku knows Instant Transmission in the movie, something he could not have known unless he went to Planet Yardrat, further supporting the movie taking place in the three year training for the androids. In addition, Cooler's final form is stated to have a power level of 470,000,000 in an issue of V-Jump, which far outclasses Frieza's power level of 120,000,000 in his final form; the fact that Goku is able to easily defeat Cooler's final form in his Super Saiyan form strongly supports that the movie takes place during the three year training period (as Super Saiyan Goku's power level during his fight with Frieza was 150,000,000). Releases The movie was originally released on both VHS and Laserdisc in Japan. They were in a 16:9 format, cropped from its original 4:3 format. It was then released later in Japan as part of the well-known Dragon Box sets, remastered from its original film masters and in a 16:9 anamorphic widescreen format. There was much controversy from fans over the decision to crop the movies from its original 4:3 format. The controversy died down when Toei announced that the films were originally animated for widescreen viewing. The boxed set was released (containing all four Dragon Ball and all thirteen Dragon Ball Z movies) with great critical and audience reception. In the United States, it was released in January 22, 2002 by FUNimation Entertainment, in VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD. It was released in a 4:3 format."Dragonball Z: Lord Slug (1996)", amazon.com The fast-food chain Burger King featured Dragon Ball Z toys in its "kids" and "big-kids" meals, in which figurines of Goku, Krillin, Gohan, Piccolo, and Cooler were bundled for a limited time. The movie was later re-released on October 15, 2002, bundled with Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug and Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler."Dragon Ball Z - Movies 4-5-6 (Lord Slug/Cooler's Revenge/The Return of Cooler) (1996)", amazon.com FUNimation re-released this film in November 11, 2008, alongside Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler, digitally remastered and in a 16:9 format, as a "Double Feature" DVD and Blu-ray."Dragon Ball Z: Coolers Revenge / The Return of Cooler (Double Feature) (Steelbook Packaging)", amazon.com FUNimation also released Cooler's Revenge with the first four Dragon Ball Z movies (Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone, Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest, Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might, Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug) on November 1, 2011. Cast Music *Opening Theme (OP): "Cha-La Head-Cha-La" *Ending Theme (ED): "Tobikkiri no Saikyō tai Saikyō!" *FUNimation Dub: *#Drowning Pool - Reminded *#Dust for Life - Poison *#American Pearl - Seven Years *#Breaking Point - Under *#Finger Eleven - Stay and Drown *#Breaking Point - Falling Down *#Drowning Pool - Mute *#Disturbed - The Game *#Drowning Pool - Told You So *#Deftones - Change *#American Pearl - Revelation *#Breaking Point - Phoenix Video Games In Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen, Cooler and his henchmen arrive on Earth while the Z Fighters are training for the arrival of the androids. In Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II, the player has the opportunity to confront Cooler with any of the playable characters: Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Future Trunks, or Vegeta. In this game, Cooler is aware of his father's death, but does not know that Trunks was responsible unless Trunks tells him. The events of this movie are also featured in the ''Budokai Tenkaichi'' and ''Raging Blast'' fighting game series. Characters Heroes *Goku *Gohan *Krillin *Piccolo Villains *Cooler *Dore *Neiz *Salza Minor *Oolong *Chi-Chi *Korin *Yajirobe *Bardock *Icarus *Frieza Major battles *Neiz vs. Krillin *Dore vs. Kid Gohan *Salza vs. Goku *Dore vs. Goku *Neiz vs. Goku *Cooler vs. Goku *Neiz vs. Kid Gohan *Salza vs. Kid Gohan *Dore vs. Piccolo *Neiz vs. Piccolo *Salza vs. Piccolo *Cooler vs. Piccolo *Salza vs. Krillin *Cooler (Final Form) vs. Goku *Cooler (Final Form) vs. (Super Saiyan) Goku Reception Anime News Network rates the DVD with a B for both the Dub and the Sub. Trivia *By title, Cooler's Revenge is sometimes mistaken for its sequel, The Return of Cooler, as the theme of the latter film deals with a true plot for revenge by Cooler. The 'revenge' referred to in the title of Cooler's Revenge is an allusion to Cooler's non-personal vendetta with Goku, an attempt to restore his family's honor after the defeat of his brother, Frieza, something that is made more explicit in the Japanese version. *According to Cooler's Revenge, Goku's Attack Ball made its safe travel to Earth only because Cooler allowed it. His henchmen detected the Attack Ball as it left Planet Vegeta, and Salza even ordered an intercept course, but Cooler overrode them and let the ball go. His reasoning was that it was Frieza's error to correct, as well as the belief that Goku would prove harmless to them. *This is the first Dragon Ball Z movie in which the Dragon Balls are not a part of the plot. *When Goku was telling Gohan to do his homework at the beginning of the movie, Chi-Chi states countless times that Goku has lost his mind after his battle with Frieza. One of these statements is that Goku's mind is a vegetable which would refer to the pun of all Saiyan names being a pun on vegetables. *The part where Gohan split the log to fire wood could be a reference to the same thing happening with Goku in the original Dragon Ball. *Gohan has a tail in this movie; it is possible for it to have grown back and to be removed again between when Frieza came to Earth and the arrival of the androids. *Icarus, who first appeared in The Tree of Might, Lord Slug and the Garlic Jr. Saga is seen multiple times in the film. This movie also marks the final appearance of Icarus in the ''Dragon Ball'' series. *All three of Cooler's henchmen are killed by Piccolo. Coincidentally, all members of the Ginyu Force (except Ginyu), who Cooler's Armored Squad is based on, were killed by Vegeta. *This is the first Dragon Ball Z film in which Goku transforms into his traditional Super Saiyan form. Although Goku was able to easily transform into a Super Saiyan when Future Trunks showed up in the Trunks Saga, at this point in time Goku only used it as a last resort and had to become enraged to turn Super Saiyan when fighting Cooler. *When Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan, a Robin that died as a result of Cooler's tearing the planet apart is revived when Goku picks it up and holds it in his hands when he transforms, and it flies away. This would imply that the Super Saiyan has a degree of healing abilities. It may also be a variant of the energy-transferring abilities used by various heroes in the series. *The movie contains several peculiarities that are not fully explained. To begin with, in spite of Future Trunks killing both King Cold and the revitalized Mecha-Frieza only hours prior to Goku's return to Earth, Cooler seems intent only on seeking vengeance for the shame thrust upon his family by Frieza's display of inferiority on Namek, as though he were completely unaware of not only his father's recent death, but also of the second defeat (and actual death) of his brother, as well. However, it is entirely possible that news of these recent events never reached him, since Future Trunks, along with killing Frieza and King Cold, blew up their spaceship and killed all of King Cold's men. However, the video game Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors does mention King Cold's death as well. *Gohan has a tail in the film, despite not having one during the time in the series when Cooler's Revenge is purported to take place. This is not unheard of in the mainstream series, however, as Gohan's tail regrows twice within just twenty-one episodes of the first time his tail is removed by Piccolo in "Gohan Goes Bananas!" (in the edited Ocean Group dub, there is a 7-episode difference between "Gohan's Metamorphosis" and "The End of Snake Way"). In addition, Goku was shown to easily transform into a Super Saiyan upon his return to Earth, but in this movie he only transformed right at the end of the battle. However, it is shown that Goku did not really need it throughout the battle, and at this point in time he only used the Super Saiyan transformation as a last resort. This is similar to how Gohan had unlocked Super Saiyan 2 after fighting Cell, but only used it as a last resort against Bojack in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound. *In this film, the Super Saiyan transformation happens as a result of anger, similar to when Goku transformed for the first time on Namek. It is possible that the movie was written before the Trunks Saga, so it was assumed that Goku killed Frieza, but also that the transformation to Super Saiyan could only be achieved through intense anger and not controlled once achieved (after a bit of practice according to Goku). It could also have meant to be a movie alternative to the Frieza Saga and was done purely for dramatic effect. *''Dragon Ball GT'' obviously considers this movie in its continuity, as Cooler is briefly shown escaping with other villains from Hell. Gallery References See also *''Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler'' Category:Films Category:Dragon Ball Z films